Protect migraineurs from compact fluorescent bulbs

Contact:
Diana Lee, editor, Somebody Heal Me
http://somebodyhealme.dianalee.net
somebodyhealme@dianalee.net
May 8, 2008
Please sign this petition asking Congress to amend the Energy Independence & Security Act of 2007 to meet the objective of promoting energy efficiency while also protecting the health of Americans who will be negatively affected by the current law�s focus on CFLs.
Saving energy and putting less waste into landfills is a worthwhile and noble goal. However, the decision of the U.S. Congress to mandate phasing out of incandescent light bulbs is of grave concern to citizens whose health is adversely affected by compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs).
The Energy Independence & Security Act of 2007, which was signed into law in December 2007, mandates phasing out incandescent light bulbs in favor of energy efficient bulbs starting in 2012. While CFL use is not required by this legislation, CFLs will undoubtedly become more common. They are more affordable than other options, such as light emitting diode (LED) lighting. Additionally, many people are simply unaware of the potential harm they hold for people with certain health conditions and do not know to avoid their use.
For some people with migraine disease, CFLs trigger debilitating migraine attacks. Migraines impact more than 32 million Americans and have a devastatingly negative influence on the economy and the lives of those who are plagued by them. According to the Irlen Institute, research at the University of Birmingham in England showed that many migraine sufferers are sensitive to the flickering from fluorescent lighting, TV screens, and computer monitors. Proponents of switching to CFLs often claim newer CFLs do not have the visible flicker of older CFLs and regular fluorescent light bulbs. However, just because the flicker is imperceptible to the eye does not render it imperceptible to the brain. The brains of migraineurs are extremely sensitive and tend to overreact to stimuli that would not bother the ordinary person. In fact, most migraineurs experience photophobia, extreme sensitivity to light, during an attack.
CFLs are thought to negatively affect some people with other health conditions, too, such as lupus, epilepsy, and autism. People whose health is affected by CFLs will become increasingly shut out of public life as businesses and institutions switch to CFLs. They will be rendered unable to do even the most basic tasks, such as banking, grocery shopping and other daily errands.
Migraine Disease and CFLs - Myths:
(1) Claim: CFLs cause migraines. FALSE
CFLs do not �cause� migraines. Rather, CFLs have been identified as a trigger that brings on an attack for some people with the genetic tendency to experience migraines.
(2) Claim: There is no evidence establishing CFLs as a migraine trigger. FALSE
There is anecdotal evidence but currently no scientific evidence supporting the notion that CFLs are a migraine trigger for some people. However, the issue has not been studied. Until the issue is studied scientifically under appropriate conditions and parameters, the reports of some migraineurs that CFLs are a trigger for them is all we have to go on. This does not diminish their experiences. Rather, it reminds us that this is an area in which more research is desperately needed.
3. Claim: People who claim CFLs are a migraine trigger are secretly hostile to ecologically friendly laws. FALSE
The concern about CFLs triggering migraines is in no way based on
a hostility toward protecting the environment. In fact, we acknowledge
that there are alternatives to CFLs that meet the same ecological
objectives without putting the health of millions of citizens at risk,
such as LED light sources. Rather, this is a public accommodation issue. Spaces open to the public should be strongly encouraged to use LED lighting so that everyone can safely participate in life outside the confines of their homes.
Thank you for supporting this effort.
the Migraine Disease & Headache Bloggers Association

I get a number of serious negative health effects from both CFL and LED bulbs. Basically, these new lighting technologies that emit completely unnatural light with a high spike in the short wavelength blue part of the light spectrum, make me feel really ill. There is also a serious flashing problem with LED lighting. I don't get any ill health symptoms from natural light or incandescent light bulbs. CFL and LED lighting both trigger the following ill effects in me - migraines, bad headaches, dizziness, nausea, inability to think, extreme fatigue, some loss of coordination - and a number of other neurological ill effects. Being forced to abandon healthy incandescent lighting in my household is bad enough, but the forcing of CFL and LED lighting in all manner of public places has socially isolated me from many forms of public life. After dark I am now a prisoner in my own home. I am by far not the only one affected in this manner. I know a lot of people in a similar predicament. Let us buy and use the lighting that we need to live healthy lives! Don't dictate to us what lighting we should be using - that's our basic human and fundamental right - not yours! For more information contact Migraine Action UK. Also look up the Spectrum Alliance UK website.

LED and CFL lights trigger ocular migraines for me. It is stupid for Congress to MANDATE that ALL use of incandescent lights be phased out. Some of us find the eco-friendly lights debilitating. I am about as green as they come but it is ridiculous for me to have to wear sunglasses in office environments because of the lighting. Now, I can't even buy what I need for home use. Grrr!